Belmont University | FYI


February 27, 2009

IT'S ALL BELMONT TO ME - Belmont FYI Feature Profile of the Month


For the first time in the history of "It's All Belmont to Me," this month's nominee is being praised for fulfilling all five qualities of the university-wide initiative: Show We Care, Take Responsibility and Follow Through, Do It Right, Make It Seamless and Walk the Talk. Who is this month's nominee? You!

Dr. Bo Thomas, vice president of university advancement, recently submitted a letter regarding his reflections on the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate. Time and distance from that event have brought an even greater appreciation of what the Belmont faculty and staff accomplished together, as seen in the following nomination:

Debate08: An 'It's All Belmont to Me' Team Effort

maddoxentrance.jpgPrior to coming to Belmont, I spent a lot of professional time and energy with team concepts and what kind of teamwork has to happen to create great results. Most people are able to think of their most positive team experience and identify what qualities made that experience so memorable. After Oct. 7, 2008, I can say that the most positive and successful large-scale organizational team effort I have ever seen and been a part of was the team effort that resulted in the Belmont Town Hall Presidential Debate. The qualities that impressed me most and made our effort so successful reflect the best of “It’s All Belmont to Me.”

The Debate experience confirmed what we most hoped and dared believe to be true of Belmont. Given what seemed to be (and was) a huge, complex and difficult task we had never done before, we did it. We not only did it, in the eyes of many on the Debate Commission and others, we did it better than it had ever been done! Why? How? A few observations:
• When we have a clear, challenging and compelling mission, we can do most anything.
• The Debate challenge, like our daily challenge of service and transformation, was too big for any one person or one group of people.
• We have very gifted people at Belmont with a variety of skill sets across our staff and faculty, and it took all of the talent working together to pull this off.
• Each person who volunteered and contributed to the Debate brought unique talents to the table and had a unique role to play that only he or she could make.
• People began to see early on that success depended on “taking responsibility and following through,” that “doing it right the first time” was critical, that if we couldn’t do it or didn’t know the answer, it was important to “make it seamless” and find someone who could.
debateparty.jpg• With big opportunities and support from others, we even exceed our own expectations!
• We saw talents and skill sets in others we had never noticed before. People are generally even better than we thought, given the right opportunity.
• There was maximum focus on the shared mission, team goals and solutions to shared problems and almost no focus on blame or fault finding.
• As a result of the above, there were numerous examples of extra communication, cooperation, collaboration and support for others.
• At the end of the Debate, there was a shared sense of “we did it” and a sense of ownership that most would never forget. It was “our” Debate.

Therefore, although there are numerous examples of great individual effort, the real salute and nomination goes to the total Belmont Debate08 team effort. I think the effort represents a distinguishing feature of Belmont University, a reflection of hundreds of people already applying the guiding principles of “It’s All Belmont to Me” every day. It is, in part, why the special feature in U.S. News & World Report found that Belmont was one of two schools in the country that was mentioned most by higher education leaders as “a school to watch.”

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Do you know a Belmont employee who embodies one of the five Guiding Principles? Nominate them for a Belmont FYI Feature Profile of the Month! Click here for more information on this program and to download the nomination form.

To read more about Belmont's service initiative, click here to view the "It's All Belmont to Me" Web site. This Web site will explain the history, training and other elements of this program.








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